Today's New York Times publishes the editorial, "Pennsylvania’s Broken Machinery of Death."
Pennsylvania is scheduled to execute Terrance Williams on Oct. 3. The state has sentenced more than 400 people to death since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976 and has executed three who gave up on their appeals. But he would be the first person in 50 years to be put to death there while still fighting his sentence.
That should not happen. On Friday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Williams’s lawyers are scheduled to explain why a state trial judge should stay his execution and why the Philadelphia district attorney should agree that his sentence be commuted to life without parole. There is compelling evidence for both.
And:
The case is a shocking illustration of how Pennsylvania’s machinery of death is irreparably broken. A state commission is studying capital punishment and whether its high cost and manifest unfairness make it time for the state to abolish the penalty. The answer is yes.
"A victim's plea for mercy," is Vicki Schieber's OpEd in the Philadelphia Inquirer. She's a crime victims' advocate and a member of the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment.
Many have come forward with concerns about the execution of Terrance Williams, which is to take place Oct. 3 unless his sentence is commuted. One objection in particular should be given great weight: that of Mamie Norwood, the widow of the man Williams killed in 1984.
I know what it means to lose someone you love to violence. In 1998, my beautiful daughter, Shannon, was murdered in Philadelphia. Shannon was a brilliant young woman and a student at the Wharton School. Every year that passes is full of reminders of what she might have become if not for an act of brutal, senseless violence.
Losing a loved one to murder is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. At first, my husband and I didn't know how we could go on with our lives. In the years since, working as an advocate for others affected by violent crime, I have learned that this is not unusual among victims' families. Many experience a similar cycle of emotions, from confusion and despair to anger and, for the lucky ones, some kind of peace, acceptance, and ability to continue living productive lives.
And:
Our justice system exists to ensure the safety of citizens and to provide some measure of fairness for those affected by crime. Terrance Williams is not a threat to the public if he serves a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
After public safety concerns, Mamie Norwood's well-being should be the next priority. The governor and others must respect her wishes for the man who killed her husband and allow her to retain the peace she has found.
Today's Inquirer also reports, "Pa. legislative panel asks for moratorium on executions." It's by Joseph A. Slobodzian.
With three weeks left before Pennsylvania's first execution in 13 years, a bipartisan legislative task force studying the death penalty's efficacy asked Gov. Corbett on Thursday to halt executions until the panel files its report in December 2013.
Calling the delay "particularly prudent," the task force, in a letter to Corbett, noted that Pennsylvania has not executed anyone in 50 years.
The letter on state Senate stationery was signed by the task force's two ranking members - State Sen. Daylin Leach, a Montgomery County Democrat, and State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican - and all 12 members of its advisory committee.
Corbett spokeswoman Janet Kelley said Corbett had not seen the letter and had no immediate comment.
The moratorium request came amid efforts by death-penalty opponents to stop the Oct. 3 execution of Terrance "Terry" Williams, 46, for the 1984 murder of Amos Norwood, 56, in the city's West Oak Lane section.
Williams was privately interviewed Thursday by the state Pardons Board on his request for a recommendation of clemency asking the governor to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.
The board will hold a public hearing Monday in Harrisburg. The five-member board must unanimously vote for clemency in order for Corbett to consider the nonbinding recommendation.
"Co-defendant joins opposition to Philly man's Oct. 3 execution; condemned man claims abuse," is the AP report filed by Maryclaire Dale.
A judge may rule Friday on a motion to stay the scheduled Oct. 3 execution of a Philadelphia man who now claims his victims had sexually abused him.Terrance Williams is on death row for killing Amos Norwood at age 18, months after killing another man.
Co-defendant Marc Draper says they told him not to mention it at trial, but to only discuss the robbery motive.
Draper is serving life for his role in the slaying.
The Financial Channel posts, "EU calls for halting Pennsylvania man's execution."
The European Union made an appeal Thursday to stay the execution of a Pennsylvania man subjected to childhood abuse who is due to be put to death next month for killing two of his abusers.Through its delegation in the United States, the EU launched an "urgent humanitarian appeal" on behalf of Terry Williams, who has been on death row for 24 years.
The consequences of the trauma Williams endured during his childhood "have arguably had a significant and destructive effect on his life," the EU delegation said in a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Corbett.
The EU, which is opposed to capital punishment in all circumstances and is seeking a global moratorium against the death penalty, said executing Williams as scheduled on October 3 would break a "de facto moratorium" in the northeastern state, which last executed a convict on July 6, 1999.
Earlier coverage of Terry Williams' clemency request begins at the link.
Advocates for Terry Williams have posted an online petition calling for clemency. You can find out more about the case and read the entire clemency petition filed with Pennsylvania Board of Pardons.
Related posts are in the clemency and victims' issues index.
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